This week I planned to get back into certain workouts that have been neglected post-ironman (May 19th). It had been four weeks so I decided that if I could at the very least get to the workout regardless of how i performed that was a step in the right direction. So I made it to my Tuesday night VQ computrainer class and my Thursday night swim class. I also added something new which I had been eyeing for a while. A Wednesday morning track work out. This is the one I feared the most and the one I was most likely to bail on since it starts at 6:15am. I told myself that if I at least made it to the track I didn’t have to actually do the speed work I could just run some laps. These are the mind games I play with myself to get there. I did end up going, I was late, I ran a mile to warm up and I ran a slow 1 mile repeat with the group who were finishing up their 3x 1 mile repeats then I ran a few laps to cool down. Mission accomplished! The coach said that I should start to feel “fresh” again in a couple of weeks. I hope so because that was not pretty.

One of my other plans for the week as part of my marathon training was to do a run on my own. So far I have just run with the group I coach and haven’t been able to run at my usual pace. My plan was to run 2 miles to warm up then 4 miles at a sub 8 pace then 2 miles to cool down. I also wanted to take inventory of any aches and pains. It was Sunday I admit I slept in a bit. I finally got up and tested my sugar which was at 190 – not too bad! Already off to a good start. I made my coffee and had a piece of toast with almond butter and a banana and bolused at 30G then reduced it by 2/3 so ended up taking 1 unit of insulin. Unfortunately I puttered a little too long so probably could have taken a little more so by the time I left I was at 252. I couldn’t have had too much insulin on board since I had only taken 1 unit. I carried a 4 oz bottle with gatorade and 2 chocolate gu’s. I started off and felt great trying to keep smooth and not let anything disturb my gate. About a mile and half in I felt hungry not necessarily low, just hungry so I ate a gel (20g carb). I sipped on the gatorade sporadically throughout the run and of course drank the fountain water. I managed to run miles 3,4,5,6 in under 8’s (barely) as I planned although it felt extremely difficult. Normally that pace should be fairly easy. It was extremely hot (considering it was midday already!) The temperature was above 90. The hair on my arms felt a little prickly a sign that I was a little dehydrated. All the time I was taking inventory of what was hurting. My right glute was extra tight and the plantar fasciitis started hurting around mile 6. If this doesn’t get fixed it’ll make for a long season! I ran the last 2 miles pretty slow and even took a couple of walking breaks. I ended up at 9 miles for the day and a bg of 75 thank goodness I ate that gel! I drank a g2 gatorade and a protein/fruit/milk shake while submerging my feet in ice water. Of course I didn’t bolus for it so my bg shot back up to 190. I tried to do some stretching but with my late start I just had a few minutes before I had to take a quick shower then off to do daddy’s day duties. Unfortunately while in the car my left leg started to ache, most likely from my tight glutes and hammies…. its time to head back for some more active release (ART) and maybe a massage and of course more foam rolling! Still in all it felt great to be out there running along the lake!